Natural Foaming Hand Soap

Sharing is caring!

Pick up a bottle of any foaming hand soap at the grocery store and take a look at the ingredients. You will most likely find many ingredients you don’t recognize. And the cost of each bottle of soap can get expensive, not to mention the fact that you are throwing away so much plastic with each empty bottle.

But did you know you can make your own natural foaming hand soap with only 2 ingredients? I’ll show you how easy it is, plus give you a few ways to “upgrade” your natural foaming hand soap depending on your needs.

Affiliate Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this article may be affiliate links and I may receive a small commission if you purchase something through a link. It will not change your cost. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information, see my disclosures page.)

Why Bother Making Your Own Natural Foaming Hand Soap?

Why would you want to make your own foaming hand soap anyway? Well, for one thing, it’s much cheaper. Foaming hand soap uses less soap than non-foaming hand soap.

Secondly, it is better for the environment. Since foaming hand soap uses less soap, fewer ingredients are needed to actually make the hand soap.

And you are also saving on plastic waste and shipping costs because you can reuse foaming soap bottles instead of throwing a plastic bottle away and buying a new one each time.

If you have children in the home, you will likely find that they do a better job of washing their hands with foaming hand soap. This is the reason we switched in the first place. I noticed my kids seemed to spend more time washing their hands and got their hands cleaner when using foaming soap.

And finally, (and the most unusual reason to switch to foaming hand soap) is that it will probably require less scrubbing of your bathroom. My regular soap dispensers would occasionally get gummed up and then shoot the soap everywhere.

The kids would leave it wherever it landed. Later, when I went to clean the bathroom, the soap would have congealed into a sticky gooey mess that had to be scrubbed up.

Foaming soap just rinses right away and there aren’t drops of sticky soap all in the sink (and on the counters) that require lots of “elbow grease” later.

What Do I Need To Make Natural Foaming Hand Soap?

To make your foaming hand soap you really only need 2 ingredients – liquid castile soap (like Dr. Bronner’s) and distilled water. I prefer the unscented castile soap so that I can add my own essential oils, but you can most certainly use the scented varieties if you prefer.

If you don’t have distilled water, you can use regular tap water, just don’t make large quantities. Natural hand soap may eventually go bad if you use tap water.

The one specialty thing you need is a foaming hand soap pump. You can reuse a foaming hand soap dispenser you’ve purchased from the store or you can buy new ones.

Given my love of mason jars, I just purchased these mason jar soap dispensers in bronze and love them. But you can also buy new plastic foaming hand soap dispensers for reasonable prices.

You can get a printout of this simple recipe for making your own DIY hand soap at the bottom of the post.

Optional Ingredients

There are a few things you can add to your foaming hand soap mixture to upgrade your handwashing experience. To add a bit of moisturizing, you can add a small amount of lightweight oil.

I prefer grapeseed oil or sweet almond oil, but you can also use jojoba oil, fractionated coconut oil, or other lightweight carrier oils of your choosing.

Adding oil may reduce the number of bubbles in your foaming hand soap so use the oil sparingly. (But I do like to add about a teaspoon per bottle, especially in the winter.)

Vegetable glycerin is another optional ingredient in your foaming hand soap. Vegetable glycerin will thicken the homemade hand soap a bit and make it easier to pump. It is also a humectant that will help your hands retain moisture too.

But using too much vegetable glycerin may leave a sticky film on your hands. I recommend using, at most, 1 Tablespoon per bottle of soap, but I personally use 1 1/2 tsp.

You can also add a few drops of essential oil to this foaming soap recipe, though it isn’t necessary. But varying the scents for each season is certainly fun. (Plant Therapy is my favorite brand of essential oils. They also offer free shipping on any size order.)

Get my printable with over 30 essential oil blends below. One page contains everyday blends, the second page contains lots of seasonal blends so you can mix up a scented soap blend for any occasion.

Mixing up your own hand soap is quite simple. Add water to a foaming soap dispenser. Add castile soap and any other optional ingredients.

Be sure you leave some room at the top of the bottle. The dispenser needs air to actually make the foam. Swirl the mixture gently to combine. You’ve just made a natural foaming hand soap that’s ready to use!

I like to keep hand soap bottles beside each bathroom and one near the kitchen sink. Mixing up natural soap using simple ingredients plus your favorite essential oils is a great way to replace those antibacterial soaps that can sometimes do more harm than good.

You can use your favorite scents or your own blends of essential oils to suit your mood or the season. Ditch the toxic ingredients in store-bought soap and make your own foaming soap today using this easy DIY recipe.

See, homemade foaming hand soap is easy to make. Packaged in a cute bottle, these also make lovely gifts for any occasion. I love keeping a few empty extra bottles on hand for hostess gifts. You can quickly mix up a batch in less than 5 minutes.

Have you ever considered making your own soap? If not, I hope you’ll give it a try.

Related Posts

• Homemade Room Spray using essential oils
• How to Use Melt & Pour Soap Base to make beautiful soaps
• Homemade Wax Melts for your wax warmer

Medical Disclaimer

I am not a doctor or medical professional. This information is intended for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice.

This information has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Never ignore professional medical advice.

Sharing is caring!